Nonbinding votes throughout Cape Cod, Mass., this spring demonstrated strong support for moving spent reactor fuel at the nearby Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station from wet to dry storage, an anti-nuclear advocacy group said this week.
Residents in 14 communities in the region were asked whether their town government should urge Gov. Charlie Baker “to employ all means available” to have spent nuclear fuel at Pilgrim transferred into secure dry casks at the earliest technically feasible opportunity. The votes, taken on ballots and at town meetings in April and May, received no less than 81 percent of support in any given community (the town of Brewster, which supported the question by a vote of 484-92).
“The next step is to pressure the Governor to follow through with the petition,” Diane Turco, executive director of Cape Downwinders, which organized the petition effort, said by email Tuesday. “We do hope the petition is brought to other town governments for support off Cape. Unfortunately the system is rigged such that the [Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Pilgrim owner Entergy] hold all the cards. But this should not give license to our state government to do nothing.”
The spent fuel pool at Pilgrim was designed for 880 assemblies but now stores more than 2,822 assemblies, according to a press release from Cape Downwinders, which cited the threat of terrorist or cyber attacks against spent pool operations.
Entergy spokesman Patrick O’Brien said the NRC has found that spent fuel pools and dry casks both offer sufficient protection for the public and environment. Pilgrim since 2014 has loaded eight on-site dry casks with 544 fuel assemblies. Another loading is scheduled for 2018.
“Pilgrim currently has 2,988 assemblies in the fuel pool, our NRC licensed limit for the spent fuel pool is 3,859,” O’Brien said by email. “When Pilgrim defuels in 2019, 544 assemblies will be added to the pool. Spent fuel placed in the pool currently remains there for approximately five years to cool before it is placed in dry casks.”